Gates, Ballmer earned $1 million each in FY05

Billionaire Microsoft executives got 11 percent raises, filing shows

updated 1:14 p.m. ET Sept. 29, 2005

REDMOND, Wash. - Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer each earned $1 million last year, an 11 percent raise over the previous fiscal year, Microsoft Corp. reported in a regulatory filing Wednesday.

Gates, the software company’s chairman, and Ballmer, its chief executive, each earned a salary of $600,000 and a bonus of $400,000 for the company’s 2005 fiscal year ended June 30.

Ballmer also received $6,300 in matching 401(k) contributions and $2,773 in other benefits. Gates received $2,469 in other benefits, the company said. (MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)

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For the current fiscal year, the company said in a separate filing that the executives will earn base salaries of $620,000 and will be eligible for bonuses of up to 120 percent of their salaries.

In its proxy statement, the company also disclosed that Gates owned 9.55 percent of Microsoft shares, while Ballmer owns 3.85 percent.

According to Forbes magazine, Gates is the world’s richest man, worth an estimated $51 billion. Ballmer is worth an estimated $14 billion, the magazine said.